Under Berman's guidance Star Trek: The Next Generation became the first syndicated series in history to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama. In all, the series won 16 Emmy Awards and, with a total of 55 Emmy nominations, remains one of the most-nominated dramatic series of all time. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine garnered four Emmy Awards and 31 nominations, and Star Trek: Voyager won five Emmy Awards and landed 26 nominations.

Berman joined the Paramount family in 1984 as director of current programming, overseeing Cheers, Family Ties and Webster. Within a year, he was named executive director of dramatic programming, overseeing the development of the telefilms, mini-series and specials including the epic "Space," "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" and ABC's top-rated MacGyver. He was promoted in May 1986 to vice president, longform and special projects for Paramount Network Television, overseeing the development of telefilms, mini-series and specials. In 1987, he was selected by Gene Roddenberry to join him as he created Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 1991, following Roddenberry's death, Berman took over the reins for Star Trek.

Prior to joining Paramount, he was director of dramatic development for Warner Bros. Television. He was an independent producer on numerous projects from 1982-1984, including What on Earth, an informational series for HBO, and "The Primal Mind," a one-hour award-winning special for PBS. From 1977-1982, he was senior producer of The Big Blue Marble, for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Series.